Are you protecting what’s important?

CHICAGO - Dec. 30, 2014 - PRLog -- Almost every week there is a story about hackers causing problems for others, whether it’s movie stars, Sony, Home Depot and other retailers, banks and employees.  Even sitting at a coffee shop or airport and using your mobile device to share, receive and store personal  data like credit card numbers, passwords, emails and banking information, you’re exposed to the possibility someone is tracking and hacking your data.  The probabilities are high for any one of us to be a victim of one of these hackers.  Given all of the hacker headlines, are we protecting what’s important?

Vince Mazza, privacy advocate and co-founder of Guard Street™ indicated, “While it’s important to have identity theft protection insurance and credit monitoring, particularly these days, those services don’t necessarily prevent hackers from getting at your data including your credit card numbers, bank account information and passwords online – your digital DNA.  They’re helpful after a problem has been detected, but it would be a false sense of security to think that they prevent hackers and cybercriminals causing problems.  The best protection is taking proactive measures to lock up your personal data – the stuff that if in a criminals hands could cause all sorts of problems and expenses.”

According to Mazza, in order to proactively protect what’s really important, the solution is to use a holistic approach toward your data privacy and security.  That includes using multiple proactive protection tools to lock up your digital DNA.  There are many tools consumers should use and some include using a secure email account and storing your electronic data using encryption and better yet, on servers located in Switzerland.  Also, consumers should use software designed to permanently delete sensitive files.  Free or cheap email costs consumers in the end from the loss of privacy and unwanted ads.  It also exposes them to having their data shared or sold without their permission.

Using secure online connections at home and while away from home using a Virtual Private Network is also important to protect your web activity.  Free or unsecured Wi-Fi networks can make it easy for thieves to eavesdrop on your activity.  Avoid making any sensitive transactions like banking or shopping while using an unsecured connection.   Additionally, anonymity is a good practice.  Using anonymous luggage tags which do not display your name and address can safeguard your home should your luggage get into the wrong hands.

Mazza continued, “We can’t control criminals or how big and small retailers protect data they may have about us, but we can take control of our privacy through protective measures.  While no protection is 100% when dealing with criminals, consumers can drastically reduce the chances of being hacked, tracked or have their data stolen.  Looked at another way, not being protected drastically increases your odds of being a victim.”

About Guard Street™

Guard Street™ is based just outside of Chicago, Illinois and offers consumers’ packages of privacy protection tools that when activated create a personal data locking system.  For additional privacy news, tips for securing your personal data and information about the program, go to www.guardstreet.com or call 1-800-517-4550.